Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy from wind using known foil principles and transmit the kinetic energy through rotational energy to turn a shaft coupling the rotor blades to a gearbox, or if a gearbox is not used, directly to the generator. The generator then converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy that may be deployed to a utility grid.
The maintenance of wind turbine components is critical to the ongoing operation of a wind turbine. Thus, maintenance operations, such as inspections, are routinely performed on wind turbine rotor blades to ensure that they are in optimal operating condition. For example, visual inspections of the exterior of a rotor blade may be performed to identify cracks and other potential defects. To perform such visual inspections, conventional methods require the use of a telescope disposed adjacent to the base of the wind turbine. In particular, an operator must typically scan the entire length of the blade looking for defects. As such, the use of such an inspection method is generally very time consuming. Additionally, it is often difficult to detect small surface defects using the telescope.
Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient and effective system for performing an external inspection on a wind turbine rotor blade.